JetBlue's Worcester service is promising, for now

One of my favorite sports yakkers, Tony Massarotti of FM 98.5 The Sports Hub, pointed out the Red Sox' many flaws during their incredible run to a world championship. "I was wrong, I was so wrong," he said near the end of it all.

I feel that way about JetBlue's new passenger service to Worcester Regional Airport, which launched this week. I really want it to work out, but history tells me to be skeptical.

So far, there are some good signs.

John Pranckevicius, chief financial officer for the Massachusetts Port Authority (owners of the airport), told me that initial ticket sales from Worcester to both Florida destinations have been strong.

Because many of the Worcester flights are already sold out or close to it, prices for the remaining tickets have begun to rise above similar flights out of Logan.

"I think they are still cheaper, if you consider the parking and the traffic," he said. Worcester's overnight parking rate is $7 per day; it is $18 to $27 per day at Logan.

So ticket prices out of Worcester, on popular days, are slightly higher than Boston, because there are so few seats available. That's certainly a good sign.

Mr. Pranckevicius said ticket sales coming from Orlando and Fort Lauderdale to Worcester have been sluggish so far.

"I think the routes need time to grow," he said. All those people buying tickets from Worcester to Florida are not, presumably, only going one way.

Massport will encourage JetBlue to spend some of its marketing dollars in the eastern Worcester suburbs around Interstate 495, which are close to Worcester and have disposable income.

"We need to get the word out, beyond Worcester, that these flights exist," he said.

People are genuinely excited about JetBlue at Worcester's airport.

I met a man in the airport parking lot who brought his granddaughter to the airport at 7 a.m., in an effort to see the first plane land. They took a tour of the airport, then stuck around for the first plane to arrive from Orlando at 2 p.m. There were about 20 cars lined up along the road, engines running, all waiting for a glimpse of the first flight.

"The level of enthusiasm here has been a very important indicator," said Massport Chief Executive Officer Thomas P. Glynn, addressing the crowd that had gathered to see off JetBlue's first flight on Thursday.

"We've never received this kind of embrace from a city," said Joanna Geraghty, executive vice president and chief people officer at JetBlue, saying the region has taken JetBlue "into your homes."

But there is this ugly history.

Worcester Regional Airport is littered with airlines big and small that have pulled out, including Allegiant Air (2006), U.S. Airways Express (2003), American Eagle (2002), Pan American Airways (2002) and ASA/Delta Connection (2002). When Direct Air folded in February 2012, Worcester's airport was left with no passenger service for 20 months.

The airport's white elephant status was embarrassing to the city administration, to Massport and the city's business leaders. Having an empty airport made Worcester look like a second-tier city.

Now that JetBlue is here — really, it's a miracle — there is no guarantee they will stay.

Earlier this year, JetBlue announced it will cancel flights from Burlington, Vt., to Orlando on Nov. 27, because of weak demand. In February, JetBlue canceled flights between Pittsburgh International Airport and JFK.

JetBlue officials, to their credit, have remained bullish on Worcester. Several officials repeated the promise this week that if these initial two routes to Florida succeed, more flights and more destinations will be added.

But my cynical streak remained.

I asked Martin J. St. George, JetBlue's senior vice president of marketing, why JetBlue would even consider launching service from an airport that had no passenger service and a history of weak ticket sales.

"We're already well established in Massachusetts, so I feel like we are starting here already on third base," he said, noting that JetBlue flies hundreds of flights out of New England. "We launched a service to two very popular leisure destinations, and we are focused on low fares. And, we timed this carefully to happen right before the holiday season, during a time when people would naturally want to go to Florida, to boost the visibility of the new service."

He said he is confident that once people experience JetBlue's service, they will fly with JetBlue in the future.

I hope he's right. It's kind of like rooting for the Red Sox: I wanted them to win, but expected them to fail. I didn't believe until the end.

Worcester Regional Airport took its first step to viability this week. I'll believe they can sustain it when another airline joins JetBlue.